Title Unknown
by kelley28
Summary: I just needed to get the ink in my fountain pen flowing, and I got this story. JackXAnn. This should be the best thing I ever wrote.


TITLE UNKNOWN

_A/N: This story is called Title Unknown, cause I don't have a title. I'm not even sure where this idea came from. I just got two new fountain pens and I needed to do something to get the ink flowing, so I wrote a fanfic. I really think this is going to be a good one. I wrote this entire chapter out on paper first, only changing a few things, and I think it made a difference. Maybe I should do all of fics this way. Anyways, if you have any title ideas now, or after a couple more chapters, feel free to let me know. If I use yours, I will definitely give you credit._

_P.S. – You will notice that my profile name is one of the names used in the story. This is not me, nor a Mary Sue type character. I happen to REALLY like the name Kelley. In fact, I've liked the name for years. I just haven't used it in a fanfic, since people like to flame others who use their profile names as a character. Anyway, on to the story!_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon, _Timeline_, _Jurassic Park_, or _All Around the Town_.**

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Chapter One

Jarod stood before his field, tired, but satisfied. The field looked great. He had arrived at the farm halfway through Winter, to get a head-start on cleaning it up. Unfortunately, it taken longer than he would have liked, since there had been a couple of heavy snow days.

Now, in the first week of Spring, the field was clear and the season's crops had been planted. He glanced at his watch, noting that it was nearly 5:00 p.m. His stomach growled, reminding him that he not eaten since breakfast. He smiled to himself. He was too tired to cook, so that would be a good excuse to go to the Inn for dinner. He ran into the house to shower and change.

The Inn was quiet at the moment, so Ann was perched on a stool behind the bar, reading _Timeline_, a book Mary had suggested. She was having trouble with some of the more scientific parts, but other than that, it was fantastic.

A season ago, she had surprised her best friend by marching into the Library and saying, "Work is slow and I'm bored. Got anything for me to read?" Since Ann had never read a book in her life, Mary gave her _All Around the Town_. A great book, easily understood, and not too hard to read. It turned out that Ann discovered a hidden talent. She was a reader, a quick one, and if she had more time on her hands, could read through an entire book in a day or two. Since she was working, she usually managed to read two a week. She enjoyed reading and Mary was eager to offer suggestions. Each season, she would pick an author, and each of them would read a few books by that author, then switch books with each other. That way, they could discuss them when they were done. This season, Mary had chosen Michael Crichton. Ann wanted to read _Jurassic Park_, but Mary told her to start with _Timeline_. Mary was rereading _Jurassic Park_ and said a lot of the science parts were kind of hard to understand. _Timeline_ would get Ann used to Crichton's writing style.

Just the other day, her father had commented on the fact that she always seemed to have a book in her back pocket. Ann could practically hear what he was thinking: _'A tomboy and now a bookworm. She'll never get married.'_ He had never said anything out loud, but Ann knew he was worried that she would end up an old maid.

The door to the Inn opened, and Ann looked up from her book. She could feel her face turn red, so she hid behind the book, and took a few deep breaths. Jarod walked up to the bar. Ann closed her book and set it under the counter.

"Hi, Jarod," she said, smiling. "Forget to eat lunch again?" she teased.

Jarod laughed. It wasn't the first time he'd forgotten to eat lunch in the past few weeks.

"Yes, and I'm starving!"

"The usual?" Ann asked.

"Sure. Only, I think I'll have lemonade this time."

Ann opened the door to the kitchen. "Dad, Jarod is here," she hollered. "And he wants the usual."

"Okay," Doug yelled back, as he began to make Jarod's dinner.

Ann made Jarod's glass of lemonade, remembering that he liked a small amount of ice in his drink, even though it was already cold. "How's the farm?" she asked him, handing him his drink.

"Great! The field is clear and I got my first set of crops planted."

"That's awesome!" Ann was happy for him. "You've been working very hard."

"Order up," Doug said, bringing out Jarod's dinner. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, peas, and corn. Ann handed him a bottle of A.1.

"What were you reading?" Jarod asked, pouring A.1. on his meatloaf.

"_Timeline_," Ann answered, refilling his lemonade.

It turned out that Jarod had read it too, so they discussed it for a few minutes. Jarod was careful to leave out any information that would ruin the story, since Ann was only halfway through the book.

The doors opened and Elli, Stu, and May came in. Ann excused herself. Jarod watched as she went to take their order, laughing at something Stu said. Her laugh was beautiful, just like she was.

"If you don't pay attention, your food is going to end up in your lap," an amused voice warned him.

Jarod turned back to his plate and noticed that he had dropped some mashed potatoes on the bar. His friend, Cliff, sat on the stool next to him. "I was just…thinking."

"I could tell," Cliff said with a smirk. "How come you haven't asked her out yet?"

At first Jarod had thought that Cliff was interested in Ann. Only after he found out that Cliff was dating Kelley, a farmer from the neighboring village, did he mention to his friend that he liked Ann.

"Well, first of all, I've been busy on the farm. I finally finished clearing it and planting my crops."

"And?"

"And how I do I know if she even likes me?"

Cliff rolled his eyes. "Cause every time she looks at you or someone mentions your name, her face gets redder than her hair."

Jarod gave Cliff a surprised look. "Are you sure?"

Cliff nodded. "And the Goddess Festival is in two days. I heard it was a date-type festival. You should ask her."

Jarod thought about it for a moment. "Okay, I will! What about you? Is Kelley coming?"

Cliff shook his head. "She can't make it this year. But, you know that girl who lives at the Poultry Farm, Popuri? She and Kelley are friends and Kelley asked me if I would take her. The guy Popuri is seeing doesn't come back to town until Summer, so she would have to go alone."

Jarod was impressed. "Wow, for a guy who just moved here when I did, you sure know a lot about this town."

Cliff shrugged. "Kelley told me a lot about this town. She and Popuri have been friends for a long time, so she knows a lot of people here."

Jarod finished the last of his peas and set his fork down. "Oh man, this is definitely worth missing lunch for."

Cliff cracked up. "You missed lunch again? That makes this, what, the 5th time?"

"Actually, it's the 6th time," Jarod said, sheepishly. "I have so much work to do, it just slips my mind."

"Maybe I should start bringing you lunch," Ann suggested, before she could stop herself. "You know…so you don't pass out or something."

Cliff stood up. "You know, I just remembered, I need to go talk to Popuri. Speaking of which, isn't there someone you need to talk to?" he asked Jarod, giving him a look. "See you later Ann," he said, leaving.

Ann looked confused. "What was that about?" she asked.

"He's going to ask Popuri to the Goddess Festival. Kelley can't make it and she asked him to take Popuri, so they both wouldn't have to go alone.

"That was nice of her," Ann commented, taking Jarod's empty plate and putting it on a tray. "Are you going? All us girls have a dance we have to do. I'm not wild about that part, since I have to wear a dress, but the rest of the festival is fun."

"I was thinking about it. It's on Sunday, right?"

Ann nodded, wiping the counter with a damp rag.

"Are you going with anyone?" Jarod asked.

Ann shook her head. "Not yet."

Jarod sat quiet for a few seconds. "Ann…uh…here's the money for the bill. See you later, okay?" He slid off the stool and left the Inn.

Crap! Why had she said something about not liking to wear a dress? Now he would never ask her! She grabbed the tray and stomped into the kitchen, angry at herself.

Why didn't he ask her? What a moron! He had had the perfect opportunity and he blew it. Maybe it was because there were too many people in the Inn at the time. '_No, it's because you're an idiot_,' he told himself. He could have asked her to step outside for a minute if he wanted privacy. He needed to ask her. Firmly making up his mind, he turned back toward the Inn, but stopped. First, he needed some flowers.

Twenty minutes after he had left, Ann looked up from the table she was scrubbing to see Jarod coming toward her. He was holding a bouquet of flowers, Moon Drop flowers, mixed with Toy Flowers.

"Can I talk to for a minute? Privately?" he asked.

"Sure," Ann answered. "We can go in the kitchen."

It wasn't the most romantic spot on Earth, but Jarod agreed. Since Doug was standing behind the bar, no one was in the kitchen. Jarod followed Ann into the kitchen and waited until the door was closed.

"These are for you," he said, handing her the flowers. Ann accepted them with a smile. "Ann…uh…" He was having trouble thinking with her smiling at him like that. "WillyoucometotheGoddessFestivalwithme?" It came out a little fast.

Ann opened her mouth to answer, but Jarod held up his hand. "Wait. Let me try that again." He took a deep breath. "Ann, will you go to the Goddess Festival with me?"

"I'd love to," she answered, grinning. "And thank you for the flowers."

"What time does it start?"

"You can pick me up at Noon," she said, filling a glass jar with water for the flowers.

"Okay! I'll see you then." Surprising both Ann and himself, he leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, and you don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to," he said, then left.

Doug saw Jarod coming out of his kitchen, a huge smile on his face. He opened the kitchen door and noticed his daughter standing in the middle of the room, holding a jar of flowers, a faraway look in her eyes. He closed the door and smiled to himself. Jarod had finally gotten around to asking her to the Goddess Festival. And from the looks on their faces, she had obviously said "yes".

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_First of all, just in case anyone is curious, and doesn't know, All Around the Town was written by Mary Higgins Clark. Great book. She's an awesome author. And yes, while both Jurassic Park and Timeline were fantastic books, I did find the scientific portions hard to understand. I'm still trying to get through The Lost World, since I suck at anything that has to do with science._

_This story will be a mixture of BTN, Friends of Mineral Town, and little bit Magical Melody (mainly the town name and the main character will be used). I know that Jack does not start farm work in the Winter, but I had to start him at that season so I could have him in town long enough to get to know the people. I wanted a chance to use the Goddess Festival as a first date. I know Cliff seems OOC, since he is so shy in FoMT, but I decided to make him more outgoing in this story. I changed the time of the Goddess Festival, since 10 a.m. seems a little early._

_I am SO sorry for these long author's notes. I'll shut up now. : )_


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